Superficially, Arena’s shabby, post-Minimalist sculptures and installations seem far removed from any political landscape which is, actually, the starting point of all his works. He re-thinks social or political events of the past (and, occasionally, the present) through rigorous and synthetic forms. It’s the transfiguration of a historical fact into a certain material that characterises the process of the artist. The material itself, the measurements and the weight become specific aspects to determine the ambiguous nature of the memory. In other words, these works embody how our view of history is influenced by our own position in it.
Francesco Arena (b.1978, Italy) lives and works in Cassano delle Murge, Italy.